“Apple Inc. recently recorded the receipt of 200 patents and pending patent applications from the electronics company Freescale Semiconductor, Inc.,” Dennis Crouch reports for Patently-O.
“Although not recorded until May 18, 2011, the assignment is dated April 11, 2011,” Crouch reports. “Freescale began as a division of Motorola in 1949 and spun-off in 2003. Some of the patents transferred originally belonged to Motorola.”
Crouch reports, “It is unclear from the information now available whether (1) Apple obtained full title to the patents and (2) whether Apple purchased the rights or obtained them through some other type of transaction. However, a cash purchase is likely because Apple has a large multi-billion-dollar cash surplus while Freescale has a large multi-billion-dollar debt that has come due.”
Read more in the full article here.
[Attribution: AppleInsider. Thanks to MacDailyNews Readers “Lynn W.” and “Dow C.” for the heads up.]